Detective Comics #1000 Review

Writers: Kevin Smith, Warren Ellis, Geoff Johns + many more

Artists: Kelley Jones, Neal Adams, Alex Maleev + many more

Rating: 7 of 8

Detective Comics #1000

Milestones are a very important part of our lives. They help to mark certain days as significant, making them stand out from any other. You mark an anniversary with a card, or a meal, maybe both; while a birthday's got a cake adorned with candles, gifts, cards. So how do you mark comic book milestones? 

Some are marked with more artists, or writers, often with an increased page count. Sometimes they even set up upcoming stories. Detective does a mix of all the above, with Brian Bendis teaming with frequent partner Alex Maleev on a future set tale where an older Penguin informs a silver haired Bruce he knew who Batman really was.

I was both surprised and delighted seeing Bendis' name here and seeing him working with Maleev once more made perfect sense. Both Daredevil and Batman have a similar feel, between darkness, crime and though DD does have a radar sense, they've both a lot power than other heroes. It's a solid story, inked beautifully, with some very good looking villains gathered early on.

Maleev gives us a range of emotions for Cobblepott, between anger, deep thought and satisfaction. I even found myself scared at the angry Penguin, while we got a silent rage from Wayne and even a welcome smile. A story I didn't really enjoy was Christopher Priest's Heretic, on Batman investigating the death of a young Asian man, needing both Dick Grayson's help and Ra's Al Ghul's. The art wasn't really to my taste, preferring the style of others, such as Maleev or Steve Epting. I find other art a bit cleaner, while this has a sketchier style, though Adams has done some very impressive work outside this.

It might've just been this particular plot, how it went, but I wasn't really gripped. There isn't that much to say about Ellis' The Batman's Design, but I will say it flows well, with art that suits the story, even if I don't enjoy it as much as some others this issue. It features Batman taking down a gang, though more enhanced than they usually are, so he doesn't have to hold back to the same degree he usually does. Good story, with a positive ending.

 You'll probably get the feeling I like really good, deep inking reading this and I do. That's certainly on display in Denny O'Neill's Return to Crime Alley, where the Knight returns to the spot where his parents were killed so many years ago. He and Leslie Thompkins talk for a while, before a bunch of youths, one armed, interrupt. It might well have proved an interesting counterpoint to Leslie's argument, or with Wayne's brutality, could've easily proved her right. The story's very well drawn and Batman looks simply amazing here.

 At one point, we see just his head and each side of his cape, above a memory of Joe Chill killing his parents.That very image of him is one we would've seen many times at the top of Detective covers years ago. It's a welcome homage. It's kind of interesting seeing an older Leslie here, especially when in the most recent arc she was a fair bit younger. I feel this story ended a bit earlier than it should've and that there was room for it to continue.

There's a host of other stories, with Batman trying to close his longest case in one, while in another, he assumes his Matches Malone identity to get one of the most important guns there is. But I wanted to talk about the story that closes the issue, which is Medieval.

This issue has not only the privilege of being the 1000th issue, but also of introducing the Arkham Knight to the comics. He was first introduced in the game Batman: Arkham Knight, though I doubt they will be the same person here, as there wouldn't be any surprise for those that played the game. As well as this, the one who was the Knight in the game has another identity here, so it wouldn't make sense if they were the Knight as well. We don't get to see them in action here, but get a lot of their thoughts on Batman and possibly what they intend to do in Gotham. This story's set to continue next issue, so hopefully it does some interesting things with AK and sets him apart from the game's version.  

It's a mixed issue, with some stories not so impressive, while others are really great. It's worth picking up, even if you don't usually read the title. Some stories are enhanced by familiarity with the character, like Kevin Smith's, or Johns', but most work well enough without it.